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Have you ever felt out of place?

Like really out of place?

A few years ago, we went to what we thought would be a classy New Year’s Eve party for middle-aged parents.

We put on our dresses, jackets and ties for a mild night out.

What we walked in on, however, was a wild night out!

When our well-dressed clique entered the venue (looking like we arrived from our suburban subdivisions in minivans and station wagons), we found ourselves in a punk rock rager.

Everyone but us had on black leather, chains, and dark lipstick. Some of the men were shirtless. So were some of the women. Every smokey eye pierced us like the studs through many of the ears, lips and noses in the place.

And while they were wearing less clothes than our group, who do you think felt more exposed?

The Gospel of Matthew 2:1-12 tells a similar story:

In the time of King Herod,...

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A reading from the Gospel of Luke 2:8 - 20:

Now in that same region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for see, I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying,

“Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace among those whom he favors!”

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go now to...

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A few days ago, I said something no American man ever wants to say: “I’m washed up.”

But it’s true. I am washed up.

I’ve lost my edge, my mojo, my swagger.

I don’t mean that I’ve lost my love for life; I mean that the work I once did so well is not working anymore. I used to have seemingly bottomless creativity, energy, grit, and run-through-walls determination.

Not anymore.

I’m burned out. Spent. Toast.

Even if it doesn’t feel good to be washed up, it feels good–freeing–to say it out loud.

Like letting my freak flag fly on LinkedIn.

There is a belief common in American enterprise that a man or woman must be always on the upswing, always positive, always winning.

For example, when you flame out at your job, you can’t admit to the marketplace that you just can’t do it anymore. You have to “spin” it into something like: “I decided to focus...

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These days, it seems that some politicians can build a “base” by promising to just get rid of anyone their fans fear, despise, or oppose.

It’s not the politicians that bother me as much as those who believe them.

Do they think that by putting Democrats in office, all Republicans will either be forced, or just retreat, back into their “basket”?

Or do they think that by putting Republicans in office, all Democrats will be forced, or just retreat, to the coasts, college campuses, and inner cities?

A lot of people these days seem to think that the solution to every problem is to just make people they don’t like…disappear.

Does anyone else see the problem with this?

For one, it is impractical and…impossible. Anyone who has ever been part of a family ought to know this. I’m not even talking about extended family. Three people and one dog live in our...

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A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about my doctor diagnosing me with mild anxiety and depression…and being 30 pounds overweight.

That didn’t take me by surprise. None of my pants fit and my shirts strain to cover my, ahem, dad bod. I know myself well enough to know that I haven’t been…myself. For a while now, the light in my world has gone sad, like the last sunsets of summer.

For the people I love, I don’t want to stay in this place, but…it’s not a bad place. I’ve read the Bible too many times to miss that people who pursue God must wander in a wilderness. There is no other way.

And where I am now is nothing if not the loneliest wilderness of my life.

In terms that American men are likely to understand: I’m having a mid-life crisis. It’s that time in an American man’s life when he knows his plans are not going to work out. He sees the time growing...

I didn’t expect to feel this sad.

But the feelings are like the ones I had when I watched my dad decline and die two summers ago.

Except these feelings are not for a person; they are for a building.

Just a couple of months ago, my son’s fifth grade class “graduated” from Paul A. Schalm Elementary School in Clawson, Michigan. They were the 65th and final class to graduate from the school. In the days after they left, crews began gutting it for demolition.

We all knew it was coming. A few years ago, residents in Clawson voted to build a new elementary school, tear down Schalm, and sell the land for new housing. I voted for it. So did my wife. We thought then, as we do now, that making this change is the best course for our school district.

My mind made a sound decision; now my heart must grieve the cost.

Walk out our front door, turn right, walk a few paces to the corner, turn...

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When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
And through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;
When you walk through fire you shall not be burned,
And the flame shall not consume you.
–Book of Isaiah 43:2

Thanks to Heather for sending this verse to me the other day.

Three things stand out here.

First, water and fire are not a matter of if, but when.

“When” you pass through waters and rivers.

“When” you walk through fire.

Go far enough in this life and you will have to ford dangerous floods and tread water that is over your head. Go long enough in this world and you will go through hell.

Second, God promises God’s people that the water will not drown them and the fire will not consume them. This is not a promise that individuals will not drown or burn. One of the best Christian men I ever knew drowned a month after we...

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Annual physicals are not what they used to be.

One year, in my early 20s, the doctor gave me a 10-minute exam and told me I was the picture of health.

“Whatever you’re doing, keep doing it,” he said.

I smiled to myself as I thought of the junk food I ate every day.

I was bullet-proof.

Up-and-coming. Young.

“Look out world,” I thought. “If cholesterol, fat, and processed sugar can’t stop me, ain’t nothin’ gonna slow me down!”

That’s what I said.

But that was 25 years ago.

Yesterday, my doctor took an hour to examine my 48-year old body.

“You don’t have any problems yet, but you need to lose 25 pounds,” he said. “With your family’s medical history, you’re at risk. I want you to change your diet and start getting three hours of cardiovascular exercise every week.”

And, after putting me through a battery of questions and spending 15...

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Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come.
Your will be done,
On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
As we also have forgiven our debtors.
And do not bring us to the time of trial,
But rescue us from the evil one.

(From the “the Lord’s Prayer” in the Gospel of Matthew 6:9-13)

“Hallowed be your name.”

The closest we come to using the word “hallow” anymore is about once a year when it’s time for “Hallow-een.”

Think about it: When was the last time you heard someone (including yourself) drop the word “hallow” or “hallowed” into a conversation?

Hallowed means “holy, venerated, sacred.”

Jesus prays to his (our) Father in heaven: “Hallowed be your name.”

In my church, we sing and talk a lot about glorifying the name of God. For example, we have a song that repeats the line...